Broadening cultural perspective

They're children, 10 years old, with winning smiles and dreams of bright futures.

Lori Gilbert

They're children, 10 years old, with winning smiles and dreams of bright futures.

It wasn't enough that they memorized the Quran, 6,236 verses from 600 pages of the holy book of Islam, in a language they didn't speak. The three also represent hope, to some degree, for Stockton.

The children, Nabiolla, Djamil and Rifdha, from Tajikistan, Senegal and Maldives, respectively, are the subjects of "Koran by Heart," the 2011 documentary that follows their journeys to the International Holy Koran Competition in Cairo, Egypt. The film will be shown at Cesar Chavez Central Library at 6 p.m. Monday followed by a discussion led by Imam Ehsan Younus of North Stockton's Masjid Umar Farooq and Joel Lohr, multifaith chaplain and director of religious and spiritual life at the University of the Pacific.

The event launches "Muslim Journeys," part of the National Endowment for the Humanities' Bridging Cultures program. The NEH's grant provides two future films and 25 book titles added to library branches.

"The goal of this program, not just the books added to the collection, but the movies and discussions, is to open up conversation and widen all our viewpoints, and help us gain a deeper understanding of the Islam faith and the history and culture of it," said Suzy Daveluy, programs director for the library. "Knowledge is always a terribly good thing, especially when it comes to learning other cultures. It heightens our awareness, perhaps increases our empathy, and I'm really excited about 'Koran by Heart.' "

"I was super excited, because this is right up my alley. I'm involved with producing programming for the local Muslim community, and I thought this was awesome," said Mas'ood Cajee, a member of the Library and Literacy Foundation who applied for the grant after being told of it by city librarian Chris Freeman. "The biggest message I want everyone to go home with is the public library is a terribly important civic space that matters. It's one of the few spaces, along with a university, where this kind of conversation and reflection can even take place. The second take-home message is another dimension of people's understanding, not just of Muslims and Islam, but the world around us, what it's like to live in a Third World country."

The quest of the three children to participate in the yearly competition of 110 young people from 70 countries inspired Younus, who memorized the Quran when he was older to assure himself a place in the hereafter and later decided to pursue the career and lifestyle of a leader of his faith.

"It shows the capability of human beings, where dedication can take you," Younus said.

Memorizing the Quran is not a requirement of all Muslims, Younus said, and memorizing isn't particular to the Islamic faith. American children compete in Bible verse competitions and Jewish children learn scripture for their rites of passage. That's only one potential topic during the post-film discussion by Younus and Lohr.

"I look at this as being able to help clear up some gray area if it does exist," said Younus, who was born and raised in Stockton, and studied at the Islamic Institute of Nottingham, England, and the Jamia Islamia seminary in Islamabad in his parents' native Pakistan. "I can help enlighten. The chance to study different faiths gives me a broader perspective."

Studying different faiths has been Lohr's field of work, too, although it's been largely focused on Judeo-Christian interrelationships. Being at Pacific for the past year has given the Canadian native more exposure to Muslim students.

"They're one of the most active groups on campus in terms of promoting education and service to our community," Lohr said. "For example, they organized Swipes for Hunger, a program in which they ask students if they have extra money on their food cards to donate ... that food money to the Gospel Rescue Mission. That in itself shatters the stereotype. They're raising money for a Christian charity, (which) shows their interest in promoting understanding."

"Koran By Heart" offers another opportunity for Lohr to explore the second largest religion in the world behind Christianity.

"It's a powerful film," Lohr said. "I was moved by the level of dedication and commitment of the students learning the Quran," Lohrn said. "It put very real faces and persons to stories we might hear about, but are not always cast in a positive light. Often we hear about what some might call extremist Islamic groups indoctrinating children, to memorize the Quran. The film quite ably shows communities teaching children wisdom through memorization. It's a reminder that not all the presentations we hear in the media of students memorizing the Quran (by rote) tells the whole story."

Instead, the film, made for Home Box Office, shows how training for the competition empowered the children, made them proud and encouraged them to dream about their future possibilities.

Showing the film in Stockton and discussing it is an opportunity to clear up some misconceptions about what Lohr calls one of the most misunderstood faiths.

"In the way Christians don't want to be identified by the extremists who kill abortion doctors or perpetrate evil, the majority of Islamists don't want to be known as extremists who carry the title," Lohr said.

He applauds the library and this program, which seeks to educate the public. It reminds him of his favorite quote, by Hans Kżng, "No peace among the nations without peace among the religions. No peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions."

Younus, too, appreciates the effort to educate the community, and is happy to clarify misconceptions about his faith and culture.

"The Islamic holy book is not restricted to Muslims," Younus said. "Everyone has a chance to read it. Everything brought into context makes sense. If it's taken out of context, it's easy to manipulate. In true light, it makes sense. Misunderstanding is a part of life. Intelligent human beings sometimes can entertain a different belief system, understand it, and continue on with their own perspective, their own way of life."

The showing of "Koran by Heart" may just be a baby step toward better understanding, but Younus said even it will help, "especially for somebody interested in trying to understand more, trying to see something from someone else's perspective."